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Burwell: No reason to up Rams' season as lost
• By BRYAN BURWELL
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_b43e26f5-7f89-574e-b6b9-472a56a626df.html
If you ever needed a more clear example of the heartless reality of pro football’s “next-man-up” nature, this was surely it. Late Sunday afternoon, just as Rams coach Jeff Fisher walked through one door into the Rams Park auditorium to confirm to the world that Sam Bradford and his surgically repaired left knee were once again lost for the season, there was Shaun Hill — the new starting quarterback — quietly slipping through another door on his way to another meeting.
A few hours earlier, a devastated Bradford had left the building, unsure of what his future held. He was once the face of this franchise, a No.1 overall pick destined to lead the Rams out of the darkness into playoff relevance. Now he is an injury prone young man coping with this awful news, wrestling with the uncomfortable notion that he may never reach his enormous potential.
Hill talked to Bradford before he left the building. They have grown close working together for the past five months. Yet Bradford’s bad news is Hill’s latest career big break. These are the moments that make you realize how quickly the process rolls on in NFL locker rooms. No time for lengthy sentimentality when you have a game plan to absorb, a team to lead and an opportunity to capitalize upon.
“We will move forward as a football team,” said Fisher. “Shaun is our guy. ... We have all the confidence in the world in him.”
So now let’s get to the essential question on every Rams loyalist’s mind:
Without Bradford, is the Rams’ season a disaster in waiting?
The answer is not nearly as simple as the question. The short answer is no. The longer answer all depends on the uncertainty of a typical NFL season. But let’s begin with the short answer. Don’t overlook the fact that the offseason release of last year’s No. 2 QB Kellen Clemens, the acquisition of the 13-year veteran Hill and the surprising, rapid maturity of No. 3 passer Austin Davis have put this franchise in a decidedly better position to withstand Bradford’s absence than when he went down midway through last season.
Hill is simply and indisputably a better alternative to Clemens. The Rams won’t have to turn the offense back to the stone age to compete because unlike his predecessor, Hill can indeed throw the deep ball with some proven level of efficiency (he has a 61.9 percent career completion percentage). He is not a “game manager.” He is not a guy whose greatest offensive asset is his ability to hand the football off and not make mind-numbing mistakes.
Without Bradford, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will not be automatically forced to scale back the offense and abandon the vertical game that Bradford was clearly and impressively implementing this preseason. Hill does not have all of Bradford’s special quarterbacking gifts, but that doesn’t mean he will forget about the deep passes to Brian Quick and Kenny Britt that have suddenly become a valuable tool of this offense.
As Fisher said Sunday, the most noticeable difference between last year and this year is the talent that surrounds the quarterbacks this season.
“We have,” he said, “probably as good talent as we’ve had since we came here. Shaun is excited about that and I know he’ll benefit from that.”
How much he benefits becomes the great unknown of this critically important season.
A year ago, Clemens went 4-5 as a starter. Can Hill do any better with an improved array of offensive talent all around him? Can he benefit from a better offensive line? Can he get the ball to his improving receivers? Will he provide the perfect balance needed to complement Fisher’s obsession with running the football?
This football season hasn’t started yet, and it hardly makes any sense to proclaim it done before it barely begins. But let’s not kid ourselves. The loss of Bradford means something and it means something big. The Sam Bradford we were watching during preseason looked like the sort of guy who could fit a football into any window, no matter how cramped, covered, deep or difficult. The Bradford we watched all summer was looking like the sort of passer who was ready to live up to his enormous potential. That guy was the key to a breakthrough season for this luckless franchise.
That QB had the sort of gifts that could — if all things went really, really well — lead to places most Rams fans considered their ultimate football dreams.
But we won’t see that Bradford this year, and who knows if we’ll ever see that Bradford again?
Shaun Hill doesn’t have to be Bradford for this season to be a success. He just has to be a passer capable of being a legitimate offensive threat. He has to be someone who can go deep when he has to. He has to be a guy who can get the football into the end zone, who can create enough firepower through the air to prevent the rugged NFC West defenses from stacking up the line of scrimmage and turning the Rams’ rushing attack into an ineffective mess.
From every bit of adversity comes some level of opportunity.
Let’s see what sort of opportunity the Rams can cull from this latest setback.
• By BRYAN BURWELL
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_b43e26f5-7f89-574e-b6b9-472a56a626df.html
If you ever needed a more clear example of the heartless reality of pro football’s “next-man-up” nature, this was surely it. Late Sunday afternoon, just as Rams coach Jeff Fisher walked through one door into the Rams Park auditorium to confirm to the world that Sam Bradford and his surgically repaired left knee were once again lost for the season, there was Shaun Hill — the new starting quarterback — quietly slipping through another door on his way to another meeting.
A few hours earlier, a devastated Bradford had left the building, unsure of what his future held. He was once the face of this franchise, a No.1 overall pick destined to lead the Rams out of the darkness into playoff relevance. Now he is an injury prone young man coping with this awful news, wrestling with the uncomfortable notion that he may never reach his enormous potential.
Hill talked to Bradford before he left the building. They have grown close working together for the past five months. Yet Bradford’s bad news is Hill’s latest career big break. These are the moments that make you realize how quickly the process rolls on in NFL locker rooms. No time for lengthy sentimentality when you have a game plan to absorb, a team to lead and an opportunity to capitalize upon.
“We will move forward as a football team,” said Fisher. “Shaun is our guy. ... We have all the confidence in the world in him.”
So now let’s get to the essential question on every Rams loyalist’s mind:
Without Bradford, is the Rams’ season a disaster in waiting?
The answer is not nearly as simple as the question. The short answer is no. The longer answer all depends on the uncertainty of a typical NFL season. But let’s begin with the short answer. Don’t overlook the fact that the offseason release of last year’s No. 2 QB Kellen Clemens, the acquisition of the 13-year veteran Hill and the surprising, rapid maturity of No. 3 passer Austin Davis have put this franchise in a decidedly better position to withstand Bradford’s absence than when he went down midway through last season.
Hill is simply and indisputably a better alternative to Clemens. The Rams won’t have to turn the offense back to the stone age to compete because unlike his predecessor, Hill can indeed throw the deep ball with some proven level of efficiency (he has a 61.9 percent career completion percentage). He is not a “game manager.” He is not a guy whose greatest offensive asset is his ability to hand the football off and not make mind-numbing mistakes.
Without Bradford, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will not be automatically forced to scale back the offense and abandon the vertical game that Bradford was clearly and impressively implementing this preseason. Hill does not have all of Bradford’s special quarterbacking gifts, but that doesn’t mean he will forget about the deep passes to Brian Quick and Kenny Britt that have suddenly become a valuable tool of this offense.
As Fisher said Sunday, the most noticeable difference between last year and this year is the talent that surrounds the quarterbacks this season.
“We have,” he said, “probably as good talent as we’ve had since we came here. Shaun is excited about that and I know he’ll benefit from that.”
How much he benefits becomes the great unknown of this critically important season.
A year ago, Clemens went 4-5 as a starter. Can Hill do any better with an improved array of offensive talent all around him? Can he benefit from a better offensive line? Can he get the ball to his improving receivers? Will he provide the perfect balance needed to complement Fisher’s obsession with running the football?
This football season hasn’t started yet, and it hardly makes any sense to proclaim it done before it barely begins. But let’s not kid ourselves. The loss of Bradford means something and it means something big. The Sam Bradford we were watching during preseason looked like the sort of guy who could fit a football into any window, no matter how cramped, covered, deep or difficult. The Bradford we watched all summer was looking like the sort of passer who was ready to live up to his enormous potential. That guy was the key to a breakthrough season for this luckless franchise.
That QB had the sort of gifts that could — if all things went really, really well — lead to places most Rams fans considered their ultimate football dreams.
But we won’t see that Bradford this year, and who knows if we’ll ever see that Bradford again?
Shaun Hill doesn’t have to be Bradford for this season to be a success. He just has to be a passer capable of being a legitimate offensive threat. He has to be someone who can go deep when he has to. He has to be a guy who can get the football into the end zone, who can create enough firepower through the air to prevent the rugged NFC West defenses from stacking up the line of scrimmage and turning the Rams’ rushing attack into an ineffective mess.
From every bit of adversity comes some level of opportunity.
Let’s see what sort of opportunity the Rams can cull from this latest setback.